


USJ: Going Beyond

by L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n



Series: Marvel Hero Academia [11]
Category: Captain Britain and MI: 13, Spider-Man - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: AU, Don't copy to another site, Hints of an overarching plot, Mineta Minoru is a Little Shit, USJ incident, friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25769599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n/pseuds/L3t_U5_D0_That_Aga1n
Summary: In which Toshinori arrives on time, for once.
Relationships: Dabi & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Kurogiri & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Sensei | All For One & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko
Series: Marvel Hero Academia [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686835
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	USJ: Going Beyond

USJ: Going Beyond

**Spider-Man, Captain Britain, and all associated characters, are property of Marvel. My Hero Academia and all related characters are property of Kohei Horikoshi**

/+/+/+/+/

Izuku was so in awe of his surroundings, of being face-to-face (or would it be face-to-helmet) with the actual _Thirteen_ that he almost missed her conversation with his homeroom teacher.

“Where’s All Might?” the disheveled Hero asked.

Thirteen sighed, “Well, Senpai—

_Boom_

“Wah!" the Space Hero shrieked as dust flew up around them.

“I am HERE!” All Might’s powerful voice called from the dust, which blew away to reveal the Hero, arms at his hips, wearing…a yellow, pinstripe suit. (Izuku had seen it before, whenever the Hero came over to celebrate a holiday or other special occasion with him and his mom. Izuku thought it looked silly those times, on his shrunken form, but now, all buff and heroic…he made it work.)

“So manly!” Kirishima Eijiro shouted in awe.

He heard a snort, Jiro Kyoka remarking, “He says that every time he shows up.”

“And its manly every time!”

“Could stand to get a new catchphrase,” Sero Hanata added, rubbing his chin.

Izuku deflated slightly—while he never failed to grow giddy whenever he saw Toshinori zoom in from nowhere, the majority of his peers quickly acclimated to the Number One Hero. Those that weren’t critical of him, at any rate.

“All right!” The blonde Hero clapped his hands, a small gust of wind blowing through Izuku’s hair, “Let’s get started!” His ever-present smile grew wider, even as he leaned towards Mr. Aizawa and asked, “What are we starting?”

His statement earned equal parts groans and laughter.

/+/+/+/+/

Aizawa gave Toshinori the stink-eye—or maybe that was just his default, tired expression—before nodding at Thirteen (he’d have to ask her real name later) who started explaining a bit about her Quirk and its inherent dangers. The young men and women suitably distracted, the Underground (god, what a pointless distinction) Hero stepped closer.

“You’re late,” he hissed.

“I ran into some crimes on my commute,” Toshinori whispered back.

“Can you _really_ afford to waste your time on such things?”

Toshinori’s smile thinned, “It’s not a ‘waste’ to help those in need.” It was actually very calming, reminded him of his days at ESU with Peter and Brian. Racing from one end of Manhattan to the other to get to class on-time (Peter would always win those little contests, which was weird, since Brian could fly).

“It is,” Toshinori returned his attention to Aizawa, “considering your condition.”

“Bah,” the blonde Hero waved off the concern, “it’s not as bad as Nezu and Chiyo make it out to be.” It was, actually, but he’d learned to live with it. “Besides, that’s what my meds are for!”

“Pills can only do so much,” Aizawa stressed.

“Well, they are magic pills.” Toshinori chuckled as Aizawa’s face twisted into a disgusted frown. Even now, Toshinori could not understand his homeland’s dislike for the supernatural. Thor and Hercules did international photo-ops. Loki tried to invade the Earth every couple of months. There’s an international support group for people that turned out to be sired by a deity (usually Zeus). Hell, not a month upon returning to Japan from the United States, Toshinori got roped into assisting appeasing Hachiman after one of his shrines was destroyed in an earthquake.

Gran tried to explain it to him years ago—that when Japan’s own deities and various yokai were revealed as real back in the 1960’s, people were in uproar that they did nothing to stop the nuclear bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (or helped at all with the war); after which many of those same spirits and gods went back into hiding. Granted, Toshinori could understand Japan’s human population’s resentment, but still…

Oh! Thirteen started bowing. About time they got started.

“Great,” Aizawa drawled, leaning against a railing, “Now, to start let’s—”

_Fwish_

Toshinori stilled at the sudden noise—as did Aizawa. As one, they turned, looking down, past the railing, as a cloud of dark fog formed out of thin air in the center of the USJ. Toshinori’s smile slid off his face. He loosened his tie, pulling off his jacket. “This a new scenario I’ve yet to be informed of?” he asked Aizawa.

“No,” the other Hero said through grit teeth, loosening his scarf and putting on his goggles.

The mist expanded, forming a funnel—a tunnel, rather. A pale hand shot out from the newly formed passageway, another hand appearing beside it. Only this hand was ghostly white, cut off at the wrist, and clenched around a man’s face, curling through his blue hair. Toshinori pushed One for All into his eye’s, allowing him to see a lone red eye peeking out between the dismembered fingers. They eye darted around, quickly zeroing in on the two Heroes above him. One of them, at least.

“All Might…” Toshinori could barely hear the Villain (for what else could he be) rasp, “You are here.” Toshinori narrowed his gaze— _no one_ outside of U.A’s staff knew his schedule. How’d this guy figure it out? He fully stepped out of the portal, revealing that his entire upper body was covered in hands. One of _those_ Villains, then. Honestly, there were children here!

Then, the Villain looked over his shoulder, waving. After which, the portal expanded, more people—Villains—stepping through.

_Fwi-Fwi-Fwi-Fiwsh_

Toshinori gasped, whirling around and spying half-a-dozen more black portals form all around USJ, more and more Villains pouring out of them.

He huffed, “Shouldn’t there be alarms blaring right now?”

Aizawa ignored him, whirling around and shouting, “Everyone, huddle up! Thirteen, you and I—!” he cut off with a gasp as black mist burst to life all around them. Toshinori moved quickly, arms outstretched as he tried to grab his colleague. Only to run right through the black mist, Aizawa vanishing with it.

“AAH!”

“Get the FUCK OFF ME!”

“Someone, help!”

Toshinori whirled around, eyes widening as, one-by-one, his students vanished into the mist. His heart seized when he saw Izuku flailing in the darkness. Without even thinking, he rushed forward, arms outstretched. Izuku saw him, reaching out—

Only to vanish within seconds.

“NO!” He roared, falling to his knees and slamming his fists on the ground, cracks forming within the earth. How could he have let this happen?! He should have been faster dammit! He was All Might; he could do anything! God…what would he tell Inko?

“Aw…” a raspy voice called out from behind him, “I was hoping you’d be in your costume—make this a bit more dramatic.”

Toshinori clenched his fists so hard his nails dug into his palms. He whirled around, face set in a snarl, “Who the _hell_ do you think you are?”

There were only two Villains before him—the man covered in hands and someone dressed in a shabby tux, their entire body made of the same smoke as the portals, two wispy, yellow eyes on its face denoting eyes, and nothing else. The smoke Villain reared back, its ‘eyes’ expanding, taking up a larger portion of its ‘face’. The hand fetishist was less intelligent, simply chuckling as he pointed to himself.

“Me? I’m the guy that’s going to kill you!”

At that Toshinori laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “Like I haven’t heard that one before? Of course,” he sneered as he rose to his feet, “it typically comes from far more impressive sources.”

The Villain’s eyes narrowed. “This is why I _despise_ Heroes,” he spat, scratching his neck, “You all think you’re _so_ tough!”

Ignoring the pathetic barb, Toshinori asked (growled, really), “Before I shove your teeth down your throat, tell me, what did you do with them?” Dear god, let him be alright.

The human Villain tilted his head, before clicking his tongue, “Oh…you mean the students? They’re keeping the mooks busy.” Oh, thank god, Izu— _they_ were all alive. Letting the news sooth, him (the complete opposite of the Villain’s intention, no doubt) he turned his gaze to their surroundings. “Ah,” the Villain shook his head, “none of them are here. They were all so eager for the opportunity to kill you, but I’m afraid none of them are up to snuff.”

Toshinori smirked, “And _you_ are?”

The Villain sneered, “Unlike _you_ , I’m not an overconfident jackass.” Toshinori rolled his eyes. “No,” the Villain raised his left hand, “I’m afraid my joy at your death is going to be vicarious.” He snapped his fingers, and the smoke Villain raised its arms. Black mist formed from thin air, swirling into a funnel. When the portal took shape, a bulky, coal-black arm shot out.

Toshinori stepped back as a…thing stepped out of the portal. Its skin was inky black, thick red scars lancing across its arms. It was huge—bigger than Toshinori—with the muscle mass to match. But the most inhuman part about this creature was its face. It had a long yellow beak, but that beak was flush with sharp, pearl-white teeth. Its brain was exposed to the elements, its eyes—lidless, the pupils shrunk the pinpricks—resting _within_ the visible organ.

Toshinori gulped, “What the hell is that thing?”

“This,” the blue-haired Villain gestured to the beast—which was panting heavily, beak hanging open, eyes focused on Toshinori, “is your death, tailor-made to crush you—mind, body, and soul. You can call it Nomu.”

Toshinori’s face twisted into a disgusting frown—someone _made_ this thing to kill him? At least Peter’s Spider-Slayers looked cool. “Have to hide behind a monster to kill me, huh?”

The Villain scoffed, “Like I said, I’m not an idiot! Besides,” he looked down at his hands, “I don’t just want you dead. No, I want you destroyed; I want people to know that you gave it your all and it still wasn’t enough. I want to parade your broken corpse through the streets, to herald dawn of a new age!”

“Lofty dreams,” Toshinori replied, taking a deep breath, One for All’s energy pulsing through him.

“…Kill him.”

The monster—Nomu—reared its head back with a mighty roar, shooting forward with all the speed of a bullet train. Toshinori stood firm. Then, as Nomu was a hairbreadth away, he ducked down and forward, landing a powerful blow on Nomu’s midsection.

Toshinori gasped, leaping backwards as the monster slammed a fist downward, splintering the earth. It didn’t move! Didn’t register the attack! Even the Hulk at least acknowledged his blows!

“Hahaha!” The Villain laughed madly, “You see it now, don’t you! Nomu’s Quirks are shock nullification and regeneration! The perfect counter to your brute strength!”

Toshinori stiffened, barely catching Nomu’s wild swing and tossing it away, “…Did you say ‘Quirks’?”

The Villain smiled, wide enough that the corners of his mouth were just visible behind the hand covering his face, “Made him with the Juggernaut in mind—you were useless against him, remember?” Toshinori ignored the taunt (and the painful memory). Did that mean…no, no! It was something else. It _had_ to be something else. There was no possible way…

Nomu reappeared with a roar, arms reared back. Toshinori raised his own, blocking the wild swings. Whatever this thing was—which was most certainly not related to _him_ —it needed to be studied. He couldn’t punch it to death—not quickly, anyway—so he’d have to get creative.

He ducked low, grabbing Nomu’s left leg in both hands. He reared back, throwing the creature behind him with a harsh bellow. It roared as it crashed into the trees below, Toshinori leaping after it. It grabbed a broken tree, hurling it at him. Toshinori grabbed the tree midflight, turning it around and hurling it back, splintered end first.

Nomu gasped as its chest was pierced, blood spraying out and staining the grassy floor.

Toshinori landed with a satisfied grin, only for his face to fall as Nomu roared, destroying the tree sticking out of its torso, wounds closing in the blink of an eye. It levelled its manic gaze at him, bursting forward once more.

“You idiot!” the Villain jeered above them, leaning over the railing, “What part of ‘regeneration’ don’t you understand!”

“ _Okay, keep calm, Toshinori_ ,” the Hero mused as he blocked and dodged Nomu’s blows, “ _He said that they made this thing to be like the Juggernaut—but there’s only one of him. Doesn’t matter what they did to this thing, it’s_ not _as invulnerable as Cain Marko. Can’t be. So just think of this thing as a taller, buffer Wolverine. How would you kill Wolverine_?” And then, like lightning, the solution flashed in his mind. “Ah,” he said aloud, lashing out and grabbing Nomu’s wrists, turning on his heel and sending the monster hurtling into the air “that’ll work!”

“What will work?” the hand Villain (at this point, he wasn’t sure the smoke one could speak) asked, amused.

Toshinori grinned over his shoulder, “Does Nomu have gills?”

The Villain stilled, eyes going wide. The second one moved, it’s smoky body billowing in the air, but it was thoroughly distracted by the tree Toshinori chopped down and hurled at them.

Toshinori grinned, leaping into the air after his foe.

/+/+/+/+/

Izuku breathed a sigh of relief as the Villains all clumped together, shouting obscenities as they floated in the water. His arm hurt like hell—he was pretty sure his wrist was fractured—but they’d survived.

“Can’t believe that worked,” Mineta whispered, staring at their handiwork.

“Believe it,” Asu—Tsuyu—croaked as she swam ahead, pulling them along. “You guys did a good job.”

Izuku grinned, before his face fell. They still had to be careful. They’d captured a lot of Villains, but there might have been a few smart enough—or quick enough—to slip away. They might be waiting underwater. But Tsuyu was swimming pretty fast, even with the extra weight she was—

“Stop that, Midoriya,” Tsuyu gently admonished the freckled youth, “you’re creeping me out.”

Izuku blushed, “S-Sorry,” he stammered, “it’s an old habit.”

“You should break it,” was Tsuyu’s blunt reply. Izuku chuckled, scratching his chin.

“REEEEAAAAGHHHH!”

The three students jolted at the sudden roar, wildly darting their heads around to find its source.

“U-Up there!” Mineta shouted, hand raised to the sky. Izuku looked up, just barely able to see a large black blur crash into the water. He gasped as a large wave arose in its wake.

“T-Tsuyu!” he cried.

“I’m on it!” the frog-girl shouted, picking up the pace. Alas, not quickly enough.

The wave overtook them, its shadow blocking out the sun shining through the glass ceiling as it crashed over them, separating them in the carnage.

Izuku tried to keep his mouth shut, but the artificial sea water wormed its way up his nose, making him to gasp, forcing more water down his throat. Before he could sink, however, he felt something tug on his torso, pulling him out of the water and slamming him onto the sandy shore.

He got on his hands and knees, coughing the water out of his lungs. “T-Thanks, Tsuyu,” he gasped.

“No problem.” She coiled her tongue back into her mouth—where did it rest? In her throat? The bottom of her mouth? Did it magically expand whenever she needed it to? Di—

“You’re muttering again,” Tsuyu cut him off.

Izuku blushed, falling onto his butt, “Er…sorry.” He narrowed his eyes, looking around, “Wait, where’s Mineta?”

“Behind you,” Tsuyu replied. Indeed, Mineta was laying on his back behind Izuku. His eyes were closed, his face slack, but his chest was slowly, almost imperceptibly, rising up-and-down. Looking at the imprints in the sand, the purple Hero-in-training dragged himself to shore before flopping over. But, why was he pretending to—oh. Hm…

“You see it too, huh?” Tsuyu asked, shaking her head. She walked over to Mineta, standing over him. “Get up.” Izuku groaned when the shorter boy parted his lips in response. Tsuyu kicked some sand in his mouth.

“BLECH!” Mineta gagged, shooting up and vigorously scratching his tongue.

“That’s what you get,” the frog-girl said without pity.

Izuku laughed as Mineta started to whine, only for his good mood to die as he looked out into the water. The Villains were still stuck together way out there, but there was no sign of…whatever caused that giant wave.

He wasn’t searching for long, however, before that same blur shot out of the water. It landed a bit to their left, impacting the shore with a loud _boom_ and kicking up sand all around it. Izuku brought his head down, covering his face.

“Agh, come on!” Mineta was not so lucky.

The wind died down, Izuku lifting his head up to find the source of the chaos. His heart lifted when he saw Toshinori drop some large black thing onto the sand. He shot up to his feet, rushing towards his mentor. “To—All Might!”

The Hero startled, head turning on a swivel. His lips spread into a wide smile, “Iz—Children!” he shouted, jogging forward a couple paces, “You’re safe!” He frowned, “Just the three of you?”

“Afraid so,” Izuku replied.

“Hmm,” Toshinori rubbed his chin, “We just have to hope that everyone else is fine.”

“Yeah, s-sure,” Mineta stammered, “b-but could you p-please tell us w-what the hell _t-that_ is?” He was pointing to the black mass behind Toshinori. Izuku blanched as he got a better look at it—it looked like some kind of monster from a horror film.

“Hm?” Toshinori cocked a brow. “Oh, that! Those Villains called it Nomu—created it to kill me, or something.”

“What?!” Izuku shrieked. Mineta paled, and even Tsuyu looked stricken.

“Bah,” Toshinori waved his hand, “it’s no big deal. If I had a nickel for every—well, actually this is the first time someone’s _created_ something specifically to kill me.” He smiled, bemused, “I wonder if there’s a club for that.” He turned his head, tilting it as he looked out at the artificial sea. “What’s that?” Izuku turned to see the ball of Villains floating in the distance. 

Tsuyu grunted, “A bunch of Villains with aquatic powers that tried to kill us. We stopped them.” Izuku blushed at the blunt statement.

Toshinori cocked a brow, “Impressive.”

“It was all Mineta and Midoriya, I just got us away.” Izuku’s blush deepened.

Toshinori turned back towards them, a wide smile on his face, “ _Very_ impressive. You’ve done good work, all of you.” Izuku was sure he looked very much like a tomato right now—Mineta looked as red as he felt, and even Tsuyu was looking down, a bashful smile on her face.

All too soon, however, Mineta’s face fell, overwhelming fear taking its place. “AHH!” he shrieked, “It’s _moving_!” Izuku barely had a chance to blink before he was shoved backwards, Toshinori standing protectively over them. Only for the Hero to relax, fists falling slightly. Izuku looked past the Hero’s legs, eyes widening as the creature—Nomu—melted into a puddle of black and red goo.

Izuku tried to move forward, but Toshinori stopped him by with a firm hand on his shoulder. He looked up at his Hero’s face; he wasn’t afraid, or even wary. No, he looked almost…confused. As if the sight before him tickled something deep in his mind.

“W-What’s it doing?” Tsuyu asked with a gulp.

“Dying,” Toshinori replied.

“A-Are you sure?” Mineta asked, peeking out from the Hero’s leg.

With a nod, Toshinori said, “It’s undergoing cellular degeneration—I’ve only heard about it, but it’s very common when…when clones die.”

“Clones?” Izuku parroted.

Toshinori nodded, before shaking his head, “Doesn’t matter at the moment, right now—”

_Fwish_

Izuku gasped, a portal of black mist appearing in front of them—in front of the goo was once Nomu. The hand and mist Villains—the ringleaders, Izuku realized—stepped out, the former staring down at the gooey mess in front of them.

His chest started heaving, before he jerked his head up, eyes blasing with fury behind the hand over his face, “You no-good, dirty, rotten, CHEATER!”

The three Heroes-in-training blinked. Toshinori snorted, “Never thought I’d be lambasted by a Villain for ‘cheating’.”

The hand Villain snarled, raising his arms and curling his fingers. Only for black mist to spread out in front of him. “Time to go,” the mist Villain said.

The hand Villain growled, only to be cut off by Toshinori’s booming chuckle, “You think you have a choice?”

The Hand Villain stepped back, but his eyes darted to his left, to the water. He jerked his head towards it.

Toshinori moved quickly, like lightning, but the mist Villain, shockingly, was faster. A portal—the largest one yet—opened up in front of them, and within the blink of an eye, a torrent of water shot out from it. Toshinori stopped, bracing himself as he was buffeted by the water. But there were still gallons more roaring forth.

Quick as a flash, Izuku called on One for All, energy coursing through his limbs and he grabbed onto Mineta and Tsuyu, turning his back to the water and holding them close.

He jolted when the cold saltwater crashed against his back, but held firm, just barely budging from his chosen spot in the sand.

Eventually, the water stopped, and Izuku sucked in a deep, greedy breath. “Y-You guys okay?”

“Yeah,” he could feel Mineta nod into his arm.

“M-Midoriya,” Tsuyu said, a strange inflection in her voice, “you’re, uh…crushing me.” Izuku blinked, looking down at his classmate. She was blushing, for some reason, and it was only then that he felt something firm and soft—ah.

“S-Sorry!” Izuku shrieked, releasing his classmates and scrambling away. Tsuyu just nodded, blush still on her face, looking everywhere but at him, a few quick ‘ribbits’ bursting past her lips.

“Hey,” Mineta furrowed his brow, “why didn’t you slap him?” A lecherous grin spread across his face, “Oh! So, I guess you li—bwah!” he cried as Tsuyu’s tongue shot out and slapped him face-first into the sand.

“You three alright?” Toshinori asked from behind them.

“Y-Yes!” Izuku shouted, wincing a bit at the fast reply.

“Great. Don’t scream.” Before Izuku even had a chance to process the request, he, Tsuyu, and Mineta were hoisted into the Hero’s bulky arms, soaring through the air.

He was pretty sure Mineta still screamed, even as they were dropped in front of the USJ entrance.

“Stay here,” Toshinori commanded. “I’m going to gather the other students, then coordinate with Thirteen and Aizawa to put an end to this mess.” He then smiled, “Aizawa will probably be too busy pretending to be aloof but know that he—and I—are proud of how you’ve conducted yourselves.” A wide smile overtook Izuku’s face—he wasn’t sure about Tsuyu or Mineta, but the latter’s approval was far more precious.

Toshinori turned on his heel, saluting them, “Be back soon!” and sped off into the distance.

It was only when Toshinori disappeared from view that Izuku’s legs buckled, and he realized how _tired_ he felt. He stumbled a bit, only keeping his footing when Mineta grabbed onto him.

“Easy,” the short student said.

“That’d be the adrenaline flushing out of your system,” Tsuyu added, grabbing his other side. “Lean against the railing—don’t want to end the day falling on your face.”

Izuku’s smile softened as his friends led him to rest.

/+/+/+/+/

“Grah!” Shigaraki shouted as he burst through the black mist. “That no-good, cheating, arrogant, BASTARD!” Kurogiri followed with a soft sigh, thankful that his young charge hadn’t started disintegrating things left-and-right. He’d just gotten the bar refurbished.

“Wow,” a voice drawled from the darkness, “hasn’t even been twenty minutes.” Shigaraki snarled, turning in time with Kurogiri flipping the light switch, revealing Dabi, swirling a drink—bourbon, by the smell—at the end of the table.

“Shut up, you power-incontinent neet!” Shigaraki roared. Kurogiri sighed at the familiar play-by-play, moving behind the bar table, grabbing a rag and a tray of dirty dishes.

“Oh,” Dabi smirked, scarred lips stretching into a grin, “ _you_ want to talk to me about incontinence, mister ‘can’t-take-a-piss-without-worrying-about-turning-my-dick-to-dust’?” He clicked his tongue, “Ah, but then, you probably just need two fingers for yours, huh?”

“You…!” Shigaraki shook, fingers rapidly curling and uncurling. Dabi cocked a brow, holding up his left index finger, a small blue flame sprouting to life atop it.

Kurogiri hummed, stopping his calming task in preparation of separating the two. Only for a crackle of static sounding from the televisions on the wall, making them all freeze. Shigaraki gasped, dropping his hands to his side and turning his full attention to the screens. Dabi scoffed, lazily doing the same. Kurogiri returned to his cleaning.

The screens lit-up, revealing the masked, scarred visage of All for One. “Hello my students. Kurogiri.” The mist-man nodded, returning to his previous task. Trust All for One to appear at the most appropriate time.

“S-Sensei,” Shigaraki gasped, bowing low, “I’m sorry! I…I failed you. I couldn’t kill All Might and,” he gulped, “I lost the Nomu.”

“That’s what happens when you’re an idiot,” Dabi scoffed.

Shigaraki darted up, eyes blazing with fury.

“Enough,” All for One intoned, forestalling anymore conflict, “both of you. Dabi, just because you lack initiative does not mean you should scorn it in your fellow.” The scarred youth scoffed, pouring himself another drink. “As for you, Tomura,” the blue-haired young man turned back to the screen, “though I do admire your drive, I _am_ disappointed that you lost the Nomu.” Shigaraki deflated, curling in on himself, “A lot of time and effort went into its creation, and some valuable Quirks have been lost alongside it.”

Shigaraki nodded, tears in his eyes.

“Now, now, do not cry,” All for One said, voice dropping into something resembling a soothing tone. “You are young and inexperienced still; and for all his faults, All Might is _very_ good at what he does. But your method of escape was clever.”

“Y-You saw that?” Shigaraki asked, voice small and bashful.

All for One chuckled, “Of course, my boy! Why wouldn’t I? And let me say, you’re escape was a clever one.”

The young Villain looked down, scratching his chin. “I’m just glad Kurogiri was smart enough to understand what I wanted.”

“It was a sound tactic,” the mist man replied. Simple, perhaps, but effective. It would have been better if they left as soon as All Might decided to drown Nomu, but Shigaraki maintained hope that they would succeed. A foolish notion, but he could rarely deny the youth.

“In any case,” All for One called attention back onto himself, “I want you to reflect on what occurred; how you can learn and grow from this failure.”

Shigaraki looked up, a determined fire alight in his gaze, “Yes, Sensei.”

“Dabi will assist you.”

“What?”

“Rather not, thanks.”

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” All for One said, the rumble in his throat sending shivers down his students’—willing or otherwise—spines. The two youths quickly nodded. “Good,” All for One said with mirth, “That is all. You are dismissed.” Shigaraki bowed, quickly making for the exit. Dabi scowled at All for One, before downing his drink, taking the bottle with him as he left.

Only to pause as Kurogiri asked, “Have you taken your medicine?”

Dabi scowled. “You know I did,” he spat, taking a swig from the bottle and slamming the door shut behind him

All for One waited a moment before saying, “Anything to add, Kurogiri?”

The mist-man thought on the question, before saying, “A few things—are there to by anymore attacks on U.A.? I believe their Sports Festival is coming up soon.”

“No,” his master replied, “I’ve thought about it, obviously. But the risks outweigh the rewards—especially since, after this little debacle, our recruitment efforts will no doubt hit a wall.”

Yes, accepting all applicants for the attack was a poor move, in hindsight. None of them would get out of the facility. He then said, “I noticed that All Might was fairly distraught when I sent the students away, and terribly angry.” Kurogiri was not meant to feel fear, but he did have a sense of self-preservation. And if not for the fact that Shigaraki would have fought him tooth-and-nail, he would have grabbed his charge and hightailed it out of the USJ, following the snarl on All Might’s face. “He grew relieved when Shigaraki informed him that they were still alive at the time” he added.

“Really?” All for One leaned closer to the screen, “So he’s already…did you notice him paying any special attention to a particular student?”

“No. When we found him and the dead Nomu, he was with three students, but I cannot say if he was preferential to any of them.”

“Hm,” All for One drummed his fingers together, “well, there’ll be time to parse that out later.”

Kurogiri nodded, and would have bid his master goodbye, had a thought not wormed its way into his mind. A thought concerning their current hideout. “Master,” he began, “I have a concern.”

“Go on.”

“…I’ve noticed that our secondary facility has seen a marked increase in the amount of power it uses, ever since your second, and third, experiments began in earnest. Will that not draw attention to ourselves? I’m aware you want everything close together, but is the risk truly worth it?”

All for One hummed, “That is a valid worry, Kurogiri. But rest assured, I have everything in hand. I’ve greased the necessary palms, so we’ve no fear of unexpected visitors.”

The mist-man bowed, “Very well, Master.”

“Take the rest of day off,” All for One said, the television screen dying soon after. Kurogiri nodded at no one, returning to his task. He hummed; Shigaraki and Dabi would probably last half-an-hour before they started breaking things.

_Crash_

“Say that again you sycophantic cocksucker!”

Never mind.

/+/+/+/+/

**A/N: I’ve got something of an overarching plot in the works. Time will tell if it actually sees the light of day. Be sure to leave a review. Later.**


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